It was during a Tuesday Style LIVE IG earlier this year with Venice Anderson-Facey, managing director, Body Contouring by Venposh, that the grey clouds dissipated cue Jimmy Cliff’s I can see Clearly Now. There was light even in the darkest of hours caused by the pandemic and a crisis for many women was deemed a dreadful opportunity to waste…

The global cognoscenti refer to it in hushed tones as COVID-20 or the Zoom boom. The lockdown, or in our case restricted movement, and work-from-home afforded the perfect opportunity to flatten tummies via liposuction, nip, tuck and for breast augmentation procedure. Nobody was really missed and recovery was a breeze. I mean, who turns on the video for every meeting? Hiding in plain sight a leisurely recovery was guaranteed… until the great reveal!

Zoom meetings meant up close and personal. Discreet procedures coupled with the ubiquitous ring light gave new life to the most banal meeting.

Style Observer (SO) has often spotlighted plastic surgery from the late renowned cosmetic surgeon Dr Horace ‘Tony’ Jackson to board-certified plastic surgeon Dr Norman Morrison, Drs Geoffrey Williams and Guyan Arscott. Much has changed since R&B cocktail was the insider code for Restylane and Botox beauty treatment. Back then in 2004, Sex and the City had come to an end and Plum Sykes’s hot new novel Bergdorf Blondes was the must-read chick lit. MoBay, Jamaica — who would have thunk it — was where those in the absolute loop used the discreet entrance of what was then the MoBay Hope Medical Centre for the Restylane procedure courtesy of husband-and-wife team of Lorraine Russo and Dr Z Paul Lorenc (pronounced: Lawrence). Today, the right filter is the difference between fab and flawed, and ‘snatched’ is the sought-after look. Cue: Boobs and bottoms.

Interestingly, too, according to anti-aging physician at Harmony Clinic and Medical Spa Dr Sandra Knight-Swaby, who has been in the business for nine years, “The requests for cosmetic surgery procedures were not [back then] as common as [they are] now… These days most individuals, male or female, are open to doing some form of tweaking.

“Our grandparents, if they lived together, tolerated each other until they both passed. Our parents did it for a while and then you found one or two of them divorcing. Our generation, we’re not taking ‘telling’. My population of clients are always trying to reinvent themselves, whether for a new relationship, a new job, a new social situation…everybody just wants to look and feel their best. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Plus, I get a lot of brides who want to look amazing in their dresses!”

So what are we clamouring for? “Brazilian butt lifts and minimally invasive facelifts” is Knight Swaby’s matter-of-fact response. It begs our next question: Who’s making the request? Everyone!!! All ages, she says, “As young as 15 years old, and as old as 65 years old. I tell the 15-year-old to wait until he or she is 18, and I tell the 65-year-old that they’ve missed me 10 years ago, because the older you are, the higher the risk of complications,” she continues.

How in demand is Knight-Swaby, who doesn’t do surgical abdominal tucks, or surgical breast lifts but focuses on liposculpting the body and fat grafting for enhancement? SO suggests a two-year wait but is immediately corrected. “It is down to a six-month wait list — I know it’s not ideal but I just do one patient per day, two to three times per week. I like to take my time,” she shares.

The still glowing and blushing bride’s recent wedding broke the Internet. “I’m Cuba-trained and USA- and Europe-certified,” she informs, but immediately adds, “I am just an ordinary girl who feels actual joy in seeing a sexy man/woman walking down the street. I hone my craft every day, and, like us all, have been plagued by heartbreak, betrayal, illness, bankruptcy and homelessness. Been there, done that! No regrets because it has taught me to love myself first, love selflessly, live judgement-free of others, and live always in my own over-the-top messy truth!! Finding my niche came along with finding love for myself.. it just all came together.” SO as we begin to face the challenges of living with COVID-19 what remains constant is the desire to BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY FAB.

How far in advance before their weddings should brides liposculpt/BBL?

We recommend them doing the procedure at least six months before the wedding, allowing time for the fat in buttocks to fluff up, and the waistline to get snatched.

FAB x10

1. The Brazilian butt lift started in Colombia.

2. Fat is harvested to extract life-saving stem cells.

3. PDO thread facelifts produce better results if quality facial products are used.

4. Cellulite bands are a good thing. They keep buttocks and thighs hoisted into muscles and bones.

5. Breast augmentation is the most popularly requested procedure.

6. 10-20% of cosmetic procedures are done on men.

7. The first plastic surgery procedures recorded in history date back to ancient India. East Asia is considered the most prolific in cosmetic procedures.

8. Breast reduction surgeries are also done on men.

9. Botox helps with migraines, relieves spasticity in cerebral palsy patients and helps to reduce sweaty palms and feet.

10. The neck is the first place on the upper body that starts to show aging.

Top 5 requested treatments

•Liposuction

•BBL

•Facelift (including Botox fillers, etc)

•Male genitalia enhancement

•PRP (platelet-rich plasma) and stem cell treatments

Credit: TheBeyondWoman Magazine

Shoot Coordinator: Carla Peterkin

Photographer: Roger McCook